Sun shades or blinds which are constructed from horizontal or vertical slats of a composite of laminated polymeric materials are well known. Such blinds are located inside the window glass of a building to protect the interior of the building from sun light. Typical shade materials are opaque or translucent but such materials have a disadvantage in that in use they block the outlook from the interior of the building.
In order to make the environment with a building more pleasant for the occupants, there has been a movement towards clear transparent shade materials. These materials may be tailored to control the transmission of visible and invisible light. A typical known transparent composite shade material typically comprises a layer of raw PET (polyethyleneterephthalate) film which is aluminised on its inner surface (the side away from the window) with a further layer of dyed or clear uv absorbing PET film adhered to the aluminium layer. In some constructions a further layer of dyed or UV absorbing PET film may alternatively or additionally be adhered to the outer surface.
It is desirable that polymeric shade materials when used within building have fire retardant properties. However, the fire retardants when added to the shade materials in sufficient quantities to be effective cause light scatter resulting in a loss of clarity and transparency. This is acceptable for opaque and translucent shade materials but not in transparent shade materials and therefore to-date clear transparent shade composite materials are not sufficiently fire retardant to meet the latest EEC fire regulations.